Karaoke contest to aid mental illness alliance efforts

Published 5:38 pm, Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Stephanie Escamilla is a mom on a mission. Seven years ago, her then 6-year-old son, Nick, was diagnosed with Attention Deficit hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a common-enough issue for young boys.

But then her world was completely rocked in 2008 when Nick said he was hearing voices. She tried to laugh it off at first, telling him he was mistaken, or that he must be hearing her. But soon she realized there was far more going on.

“He became withdrawn and depressed,” she said. “Then he started hallucinating.” That was the moment she knew she was not dealing with ADHD any more, but something far deeper, and darker.

Today Nick, a 13-year-old middle school student, is on medication for bi-polar disorder, among other things. Escamilla also is on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a national grassroots level organization educating people about mental illness.

For Escamilla, the group has been a lifeline.

“When Nick was first diagnosed, my family didn't support us at all,” she said. “They thought I was over-reacting. They thought Nick was upset because his father and I had gone through a divorce. They told me that Nick would just get over it.”

It was not until she discovered NAMI and attended some of their meetings that she got the support and understanding that she needed. “Everyone there has a relative — a child, a parent, an aunt, an uncle, who struggles with mental illness,” she added.

Not being able to sit on the sidelines and just take in everything NAMI has to offer, Escamilla was compelled to become involved. She now teaches courses through NAMI. One major aspect of her training is to talk to police officers about approaching mentally ill patients when they are called in to a situation

“Many times they (law enforcement officers) are coming in blind. They have no idea what the person's history is,” she said. “I explain to them that they have to suspend judgment because things are not always as they seem.”

She offers an example from her own experience. “When Nick hears voices, he raises his own. Imagine you're in a room and someone begins to talk loudly. You speak louder to be heard over the other person. That's what Nick is doing. He is talking over the voice in his head. Remember, to him it's real; it's not in his head. So although he is yelling, he is not angry; and responding in anger or with authority will only agitate him.”

Giving police officers valuable pieces of information like that will, she believes, go a long way in helping them differentiate between a mentally ill person and someone who does not suffer in the same way.

NAMI is privately funded and relies solely on contributions from the public. On a local level developer Gordon Hartman, Bexar County Sheriff Amadeo Ortiz and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus are supporting a walk to be held Oct. 6 at Brackenridge Park. But Escamilla wanted to do something else before the walk and came up with a karaoke contest as a means to raise awareness.

Starting at 7 p.m. today, Escamilla and a band of NAMI supporters — as well as self-professed Karaoke “experts” — can be found at the Me and C.A. Karaoke Bar, 8373 Perrin Beitel Road one block inside Loop 410, raising money for NAMI. Entry in the karaoke contest is just $5; three singers will win prizes. For details on the event, contact Escamilla at 830-261-9513 or madhatterteamfornami@gmail.com.

Escamilla may not be able to impede her son's mental illness, but she is determined to do all she can to help Nick — and the millions of others who struggle in a daily basis with this insidious illness.